Art calls his little pocket of Ventura, “Freedom Memorial Park”
by Patricia Schallert and Yana Khiyod
Arthur Hurts, called Art by most, started his beach sculptors during the Covid shutdown 2 1/2 years ago. Prior to the pandemic lockdown, he could be found writing screenplays and composing music at Starbucks on Main Street in downtown Ventura. The lock down changed that and with it, motivated Art to find another place to do his work without worrying about the pandemic. He discovered a little pocket of quiet, where sounds of the crashing waves and flying birds overhead were inviting him to sit and let his creative juices flow.
He calls his little pocket of Ventura, “Freedom Memorial Park” where he broke all of his familiar routines including giving up his WIFI, computer devices and ear plugs. He stopped drinking coffee and only once in a while, he will respond to an email. When he first found this spot, he began by moving rocks and stones out of the way, creating a path to walk around and used a large piece of driftwood to use as a place to sit and write. It grew from there as Covid kept everything closed up. From this small spot, he has written a screen play and composed several pieces of music.
Art presents himself as a minimalist, well groomed with a full white beard and seems to enjoy talking about his vision, his writings and his music. And what initially appears to be stacks of driftwood and the typical rocks found on the beach in Ventura, upon closer look, dinosaurs, snakes, birds and sea monsters, emerge from the driftwood, kelp, shells and anything found on the beach that is “nature furnished”..
“Freedom Memorial Park” can be found on the beach between the Ventura pier and Sanjon Rd.
